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Established 1999

1. Why work with us?
   
2. The Art of Mastering?
   

So why do we do what we do, and why would you want to work with us?

Our main goal is to work with clients to produce recordings that they are happy with, and that they feel are better than what they could have done on their own. We are professionals but believe in a relaxed environment, friendly interaction, and having a fun time while working. We also believe in being as absolutely flexible as possible.

To that end, we are willing to take a variety of approaches:

1. We can work completely under your direction to achieve specific sounds and qualities that you're looking for. We pride ourselves in making the ideas and visions of our clients a reality.

2. We can act as consultants and give both objective and subjective feedback on recordings and what we think will work and sound best. We are willing to try different mixes and techniques to find a sound you're looking for.

3. We can actively participate in the creative process to whatever degree you are comfortable with, and are usually willing to do remixes too.

Our type of involvement is entirely up to you. Some engineers/producers have a particular "sound" or "style" and are often hired to provide that. While we can do the same, we also pride ourselves in being able to do the work in a style that is completely your own.

So that's why we think we're good to work with. Feel free to check our references, we're sure they'll agree.

The art of mastering (and any post-production work) is mostly science, really. But at best a soft science, because in the end, it's all about one's opinion and taste when it comes to the results. Therein lies the art.

So what's our point? That at the very least, every engineer, producer and artist has certain tastes and aesthetics that dictate what the music should be like. So we differentiate between production, post-production and mastering because each require a different level of involvement by the engineer with regards to the results.

• Production

  If you've hired someone to do production work, that means you're looking for their input on the way things should sound and be recorded and arranged. The basic recording may be done when a producer is brought in, and there's a lot that can be done to rough tracks with effects processing and EQ'ing, not to mention editing and arranging. In any case, the main thing a producer does is give their input on making a recording sound a certain way.

• Post-Production

  Post-production comes in when you have recorded tracks that make up a full planned release, but there's a desire to improve the overall sound of the entire work. Examples could include special processing to limit or enhance bass response, filtering to eliminate unwanted frequencies, boosts or reductions in certain ranges, such as the high end (cymbals and hi-hats) or vocal range, or heavy compression and limiting to increase volume levels. The idea is that the overall sound will be enhanced, but in a way that's consistent across all tracks.

• Mastering

  Mastering is the trickiest of the three, because our feeling is that if it's done correctly, it's transparent. Levels and EQ between tracks should be consistent, and overall levels should be maximized to use the entire frequency range of the recording medium while maximizing the volume, without losing dynamics or effecting any of the overall sound. The end result should sound exactly like the original, but somehow "better" and more uniform, which will provide a finished product ready for mass production.

  Here's some writings by Greg Headley on The Art of Mastering from working with us.

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  Last validated 06 Dec 2008.